Aaaand another post from me. So I just got through with the rehearsal & presentation of a new musical — my job at NYU is to be the faculty advisor to teams of graduate students who are writing musicals as their masters thesis. We hire professional actors, directors and music directors to put on a staged reading of the show (a concert version, basically – if you haven’t seen a staged reading. It’s actors at music stands.) Anyway — they do it all in four days. They get the material on Thursday, rehearse 8 hours on Thursday and 8 hours on Friday, weekend off, 8 hours more on Monday, a few hours more on Tuesday, and then present it Tuesday afternoon (on book — but the whole score learned, etc.) It’s very intense, as you can imagine. Whole songs get cut, scenes get rewritten. But even those pro actors need to be gently reminded to pick up their cues. I’m sure Greg & Suzanne have talked about the ways to think about that — I’ll throw my typical advice onto the pile. One is — it’s not about “faster”, it’s about increasing the need/passion/urgency. Another is — don’t wait till the end of the other actor’s line to breathe. Breathe during their line so that yours can come right in. And last — think about any conversation like a game of ping-pong — you’re sending your energy out with your line, and the next person smacks that energy along with their line. There’s force and intention behind every line — that’s what keeps a scene moving.

I just thought you’d like to know that even Broadway actors go through the process you’re going through — and at some point have to go from exploratory-tempo to knowing to erase the gaps between lines so that the scenes have drive and momentum…

In “None of the Above, ” the human students reject their Hannah-selected career choices.

Aaaand another post from me. So I just got through with the rehearsal & presentation of a new musical — my job at NYU is to be the faculty advisor to teams of graduate students who are writing musicals as their masters thesis. We hire professional actors, directors and music directors to put on a staged reading of the show (a concert version, basically – if you haven’t seen a staged reading. It’s actors at music stands.) Anyway — they do it all in four days. They get the material on Thursday, rehearse 8 hours on Thursday and 8 hours on Friday, weekend off, 8 hours more on Monday, a few hours more on Tuesday, and then present it Tuesday afternoon (on book — but the whole score learned, etc.) It’s very intense, as you can imagine. Whole songs get cut, scenes get rewritten. But even those pro actors need to be gently reminded to pick up their cues. I’m sure Greg & Suzanne have talked about the ways to think about that — I’ll throw my typical advice onto the pile. One is — it’s not about “faster”, it’s about increasing the need/passion/urgency. Another is — don’t wait till the end of the other actor’s line to breathe. Breathe during their line so that yours can come right in. And last — think about any conversation like a game of ping-pong — you’re sending your energy out with your line, and the next person smacks that energy along with their line. There’s force and intention behind every line — that’s what keeps a scene moving.

I just thought you’d like to know that even Broadway actors go through the process you’re going through — and at some point have to go from exploratory-tempo to knowing to erase the gaps between lines so that the scenes have drive and momentum…

In “None of the Above, ” the human students reject their Hannah-selected career choices.

Okay, gang, here’s the deal. As you may be aware, in the development process for almost every show, cuts and changes happen. This show is no exception. Act I is running quite long (it should be about an hour, and it was 1:25 today), and while a LOT of that time can be made up by picking up the pace, some of that is simply that there’s too much material.

(Incidentally, if you wish to keep us from feeling like we should cut even MORE material for length, you should try very hard to keep it short in other ways. Like by picking up the pace.)

But, that semi-idle threat aside, I’ve spoken to Rob and your teachers, and here’s a cut we will be making. We’re cutting None of the Above, and the scene in Marsh’s class. We’re going to tweak the hallway scene a little bit to compensate for the cut, but I think we won’t miss it once it’s gone. We’ll have a revised scene for you by tomorrow morning.

So, shed a single tear for None of the Above, while it wends its way off to Cut Song Heaven, and then go back to work on memorizing your lines. So you can say them faster.

You guys are doing great work.

#19 – “Turn the Page” from the LCHS World Premiere Production of KELLY featuring Anna Maguire, Brie Cole & company.

So as we announced the other night, we had to cut None of the Above, both because Act 1 was running long and because it just wasn’t earning its place in the show. There was a lot of distress from the students who love it and want it reinstated, so Rob and I recorded a conversation discussing why None of the Above is gone for good.

Okay, gang, here’s the deal. As you may be aware, in the development process for almost every show, cuts and changes happen. This show is no exception. Act I is running quite long (it should be about an hour, and it was 1:25 today), and while a LOT of that …